Dora the Explorer has found her dad!
Michael Pena | Credits: Gregg DeGuire/WireImage
Michael Peña has closed a deal to join Paramount’s live-action feature based on the character from Nickelodeon's beloved preschool series of the same name. The movie stars Isabela Moner (
100 Things to Do Before High School,
Legends of the Hidden Temple,
Transformers: The Last Knight,
Sicario: Day of the Soldado,
Instant Family) in the film’s title role.
Pena now joins
Eva Longoria as the parents of the titular character, a girl who has spent most of her life exploring the jungle with them, but now must navigate her most dangerous adventure yet: high school.
In the series Dora's father is named Cole Márquez, however it's currently unknown whether this name will also be used in the feature film.
Per the studio, the movie will tell the story of Dora, a girl who has spent most of her life exploring the jungle with her parents, but now must navigate her most dangerous adventure yet: high school. Always the explorer, Dora quickly finds herself leading Boots (her best friend, a monkey), Diego, and a rag tag group of teens on a live-action adventure to save her parents and solve the impossible mystery behind a lost Inca civilization.
Moner and Pena are joined in the film by: Eugenio Derbez (
Overboard,
Instructions Not Included,
How to Be A Latin Lover), who plays Alejandro, a mysterious jungle inhabitant who tries to protect the teenagers from the marauders. The film also features big screen newcomer Micke Moreno (
Escobar: Paradise Lost), in the role of cousin Diego; Nicholas Coombe (
Spy Kids: Mission Control,
Midnight Sun) as Randy, a fellow high schooler who develops an immediate crush on Dora; Madeleine Madden (
Picnic at Hanging Rock,
Tidelands) as the school’s snooty class president, Sammy; and Academy Award nominee Adriana Barraza (
Babel,
Amores Perros,
Thor,
The 33) as Dora’s grandma, Abuelita Valerie. Temuera Morrison (
Green Lantern,
Moana) will play the role of Powell. Additional key casting announcements are forthcoming.
Peña is currently on screens with
Ant-Man and the Wasp, reprising the fan-favorite role of small-time criminal Luis in the Marvel movie that has grossed $466 million worldwide. Currently, he can be seen leading the Netflix original
Extinction. He recently wrapped shooting
The Mule, a crime drama with Clint Eastwood and Bradley Cooper, and will be seen in season four of Netflix's
Narcos: Mexico. Pena is repped by CAA, Management 360 and Stone Genow. Peña has also appeared in
My Fellow Americans,
Gone in 60 Seconds,
End of Watch,
Tower Heist,
The Martian and
Fury.
Dora the Explorer is produced by Christopher Robin producer Kristin Burr, who is joined by longtime Bobin associate, executive producer John G. Scotti (
The Muppets,
Muppets Most Wanted,
Alice Through the Looking Glass) as well as executive producers Julia Pistor (
The Spiderwick Chronicles,
A Series of Unfortunate Events) and Eugenio Derbez.
Bobin has assembled a talented team behind the camera that also includes reunions with Oscar®-winning production designer Dan Hennah (Peter Jackson’s
The Lord of the Rings and
The Hobbit trilogies,
Alice Through the Looking Glass) and costume designer Rahel Afiley (
The Muppets,
Muppets Most Wanted,
Flight of the Conchords). The pair will be joined by six-time Goya Award winning (and BAFTA nominated) cinematographer Javier Aguirresarobe, A.S.C. (
Secretos del corazón,
The Others,
Blue Jasmine,
Thor: Ragnarok), film editor Mark Everson (
Paddington,
Paddington 2) and BAFTA-nominated VFX supervisor Andy Brown (
Black Panther,
House of Flying Daggers,
Moulin Rouge!)
Dora the Explorer is currently in production, and is filming entirely in Australia’s Gold Coast, in the state of Queensland on the continent’s east coast south of Brisbane. Village Roadshow Studios, where the production is headquartered, has been host to several major Hollywood movies in the last few years, including
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader,
The Shallows,
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Marvel’s
Thor: Ragnarok and, most recently, DC’s
Aquaman. In addition to designer Hennah’s stage builds, the production is utilizing Queensland’s diverse landscape, notably tropical forests near Tamborine Mountain and Tallebudgera, to portray Dora’s jungle habitat.
Dora the Explorer is a Paramount Players and Nickelodeon production in association with Walden Media. The film is being supported by the Queensland Government via Screenland Queensland. Paramount will release the film on August 2, 2019.
More Nick: First Look at Isabela Moner in Paramount's 'Dora the Explorer' Movie!
Originally published: Wednesday, August 22, 2018 at 5:37pm BST.
Original sources: The Hollywood Reporter; Additional source: Dora the Explorer Wiki, /Film.
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